The Linemakers

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Oregon has been a bad basketball team since freshman starting point guard Dominic Artis went down with a foot injury three games ago.

The Ducks were 17-2 and rolling before Artis was injured. Without him, Oregon has dropped two of three, turning the ball over a whopping 65 times and failing to cover the spread in all three games.

Artis reportedly has not been practicing with the team this week but had not been ruled out of tonight's game against Colorado as of Wednesday. Bettors will want to keep a close eye on his status, especially since backup point guard Johnathan Loyd is battling an injured right thumb. If neither Artis nor Loyd can go, freshman Willie Moore will man the point.

The Buffaloes are healthier, but also enter off a shaky performance in a 58-55 loss to a bad Utah team missing its leading scorer and rebounder. Colorado was a 5-point road favorite at Utah, which has just one other conference win.

The Buffs have also had trouble with turnovers. They rank last in conference turnover margin while Oregon is 11th.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Colorado took two of three from the Ducks last year.

The line and total

Oregon opened as a 6-point favorite, a big number for a team that may be playing with a third-string point guard.

The total will be about 136.5. Oregon is averaging 74.1 and allowing 63.4 points per game. Colorado averages 70.5 and allows 65.0 points per game.

UNDER is 6-1 in Oregon's last seven home games and 8-2 overall in Ducks' games.

The Linemakers' lean

This game hinges of the health of Oregon's point guards. If Artis was to return, it would be a big lift for the Ducks. But since he didn't practice early in the week, it's hard to believe he'll go. When you add the injury to the backup, the Ducks' offense isn't expected to run as efficiently as possible.

As we told you above, there are a lot of trends pointing toward the UNDER, and with both teams struggling with turnovers, it's definitely worth a look. Our lean is to the underdog and UNDER in this late-night Pac-12 game on ESPNU.